For work and play

I drive 500-700 miles/week for work. I have a 2year old daughter that rides in Mom's car most of the time. I like to take my bike with me on work trips and staying in hotels so security is important (I'm not going to take my bike inside with me every night).

And I want everything. Well appointed, fun to drive, good gas mileage, plush ride but not sluggish. It would be nice to be able to sleep in the back. and all under $30k Work says it has to be less than 5 years old and 150k miles, So new or newer and low miles.

I currently drive a Beatiful Black Crew-cab Silverado, that I love. I've searched and test drove but I can't find anything that would make me leave my truck.

What kills me is the bad gas mileage and the poor thing just get hammered in parking garages and I can no longer park it inside at home.

I am in the same boat as you...I want a car for good mpg and for the ease of navigating through parking garages etc. But after owning a GMC Sierra 2500hd Duramax, no cars seem really appealing.

I thought about Subaru, but a lot of their cars now have a CVT transmission which i find weird that you don't feel the shifts, plus the longevity of the CVT is questionable from my internet research.

Recently i looked at the Toyota Camry and am really impressed....the SE model looks good and the 25/35 mpg ratings are good... that's at the top of my list now.
A close second is the GMC Terrain, the only thing i am leery of is the GM 4 cylinder engine quality/longevity...seems that is the one area honda and toyota beats GM in.

My wife had an equinox and it was a great car. When we were buying her new car we looked into a newer one, and the Terrain and they get real pricey real quick. I feel like You can get a "real" SUV for the same or less. She went into a Unlimited Wrangler for about a year and now a Grand Cherokee Limited X. What an awesome ride. I feel like that is the best value SUV out there. Gas mileage in town kinda sucks but I got nearly 25mpg on a road trip to florida this summer.

I drive about the same amount as you for work, i have a 3/4 dodge diesel that used to be my daily driver, but now that and my jeep are weekend play toys and haulers for big trips and races.

My current car is a 2013 ford focus, you can lay a bike down in the back if you put the back seats down, and gets good MPG. Before this car i had a hyundai veloster which you could fit a bike into but it was a tight fit and the car was small, on both cars i have a hitch and a rack so i don't have to put them inside the car and get it dirty and i just deal with taking my bike on and off when i get to where i am going.

These are my cars:
The truck has space for 6 bikes on the bed rack and if i put in the hitch rack up to 10 bikes on one truck. The Jeep is the other toy its a 1978
New Commuter Car
Old Commuter Car

Audi A3 2.0T? Hatchback with folding rear seats, it's an Audi so there's some luxo features, and the 200HP 2.0T is reasonably quick when paired with either the DSG or 6 speed manual. If that ins't enough they also are available with a 3.2L V6 that puts out around 260hp, IIRC, and comes with the Quattro AWD.

Also, they're rare in my neck of the woods, but they also are available with the TDI motor. Slower than the other 2, but mpgs will be insane.

I'm looking for a hatchback or smaller SUV, and this is on my short list.

We had an auto show this weekend and the Velocetor Turbo drew my attention. I will be test driving one. I sat in "everything" and it seemed to fit. More comfortable than the Subarus and more affordable than most anything else. I would like to have AWD but I drove in WV mountains for years without it, I should be able to handle NC winters with front wheel drive.

The element is a good Idea but not great gas mileage and not in production anymore.

The A3 remains on my list but not at the top. I hate Audi's Nav. and they are pretty expensive.

We had an auto show this weekend and the Velocetor Turbo drew my attention. I will be test driving one. I sat in "everything" and it seemed to fit. More comfortable than the Subarus and more affordable than most anything else. I would like to have AWD but I drove in WV mountains for years without it, I should be able to handle NC winters with front wheel drive.

The element is a good Idea but not great gas mileage and not in production anymore.

The A3 remains on my list but not at the top. I hate Audi's Nav. and they are pretty expensive.

I really like the look of the Veloster! I wouldn't buy one as I want more interior space, but I like that they've come out with the turbo version.

As far as Audi nav, well I'd never order nav on a car anyway, considering they usually add thousands to the price while you can get nav on any smartphone or get a Garmin or TomTom for a hundred bucks. Plus I don't like how they bundle other features into the touch screen.

I hate the idea of that, knobs and switches work just fine, and I imagaine they have to be safer as they do not require you to take your eyes off the road to operate them.

I think it's only a matter of time before the NHTSA puts some restrictions on this touch screen stuff, IMO using it can't be any less distracting than texting while driving.

I'm in a similar boat as you. I drive a gas pig with a lot of miles and its time for something new. I wanted AWD or 4x4, good gas mileage, ability to tow, and a standard transmission(surprisingly the hardest part to find). I came across the new Subaru XV Crosstrek. Has everything I was looking for and more. Gas mileage is good with 24/30 manual and 26/33 CVT. Good gas mileage comes with a small price of being a tad underpowered. Plenty of pep in the city, but highway passing is a tad sluggish without a downshift. Has the room to put a bike inside, but I opted for going with a roof rack. Should be able to pick it up in a few weeks. Here are a few pics from the dealer it is being shipped from.

I'm in a similar boat as you. I drive a gas pig with a lot of miles and its time for something new. I wanted AWD or 4x4, good gas mileage, ability to tow, and a standard transmission(surprisingly the hardest part to find). I came across the new Subaru XV Crosstrek. Has everything I was looking for and more. Gas mileage is good with 24/30 manual and 26/33 CVT. Good gas mileage comes with a small price of being a tad underpowered. Plenty of pep in the city, but highway passing is a tad sluggish without a downshift. Has the room to put a bike inside, but I opted for going with a roof rack. Should be able to pick it up in a few weeks. Here are a few pics from the dealer it is being shipped from.

I drove an XV and overall liked it. With mostly interstate driving i was concerned with the power and i didn't love the ride.

I really like the look of the Veloster! I wouldn't buy one as I want more interior space, but I like that they've come out with the turbo version.

As far as Audi nav, well I'd never order nav on a car anyway, considering they usually add thousands to the price while you can get nav on any smartphone or get a Garmin or TomTom for a hundred bucks. Plus I don't like how they bundle other features into the touch screen.

I hate the idea of that, knobs and switches work just fine, and I imagaine they have to be safer as they do not require you to take your eyes off the road to operate them.

I think it's only a matter of time before the NHTSA puts some restrictions on this touch screen stuff, IMO using it can't be any less distracting than texting while driving.

I'm with you. I prefer my Garmin, but if the GPS is in the car, I want to be able to use it without getting annoyed. unfortunatly I have found that a lot of the options I am looking for get bundled in with the GPS (not Audi) but in my experience, that seems to be how it goes with cheaper cars.

Similar Truck

Hey KDR,

I have a black crew cab, that looks pretty close to yours. It's lifted and diesel. Probably has the worst turning radius in the world. I just got back for a trip to Alaska, (from San Diego). Yeah fuel was the biggest cost, but the truck was great. Now that I'm back I have a 1988 Suzuki Samurai as a second car. An excellent choice as long as you have plenty of time to get where you going, don't mind constant rattling, and live where it doesn't rain. The truck is faster pulling a 12k pound 5th wheel.

pictures

Really, any kind of station wagon. You can search car browsing sites by average MPG to find the best ones, and most likely you will find a foreign one will be best for this.

The downside of a station wagon is you can't haul like your truck, and you can't load the back *as* high. But you can fit PLENTY in there if you keep the back seats down/ pulled out. You won't have any problem spreading out and sleeping in the back with the seats removed, and you can fit bikes inside and lock them up. They will get better gas mileage than a van or truck, but not as much as a sedan or compact. Middle of the road compromise, imho.

My next car will be some kind of station wagon. I can haul bikes without disassembly, as well as any art or sculpture supplies I need. Transporting stuff has been a major headache in the past, and the vast majority of stuff I need can fit in a station wagon. Plus, I rarely drive with more than one other person, so I can keep the seats out and stored for extra space all the time.